CATHERINE HILL, Frome

Once bustling with greengrocers and bakers, by the 1990s Catherine Hill was anything but thriving. ‘It was quite down at heel when I arrived,’ says Ciara Nolan, who has run Poot Emporium for 12 years. Trees had taken root in what is now the wool shop known as the Frome Yarn Collective (fromeyarncollective.co.uk). Happily, today the cobbled incline is one of its major draws. And while those climbing up might need to pause for breath halfway, instead of boardedup shops they can now linger in one of its many independent boutiques. Buy stylish children’s clothes and toys at Sisters Guild (sistersguild.co.uk), vintage and antique homeware at Life of Riley, # ne stationery and homeware at Resident (residentstore.co.uk), brushes and light bulbs in the beautifully styled Frome Hardware (fromehardware.com) and invest in modern cra $ at Kobi & Teal (kobiandteal.co. uk). Reward youre "orts at L’Aperitivo at the summit.

ABOVE Twelve years ago, Ciara Nolan helped to inject new life into medieval Catherine Hill. Today her thriving shop Poot Emporium (the first vintage shop in Frome) is run as a collective of fashion designers and makers.